John Galliano and Maison Margiela Are Going Fur-Free

It seems that the fashion industry is becoming more aware of the importance of using sustainable fabrics. The hype about finding reasonable sources to create and deliver ethical fashion is real. A number of designers have already joined the no-fur club, and some of them even went vegan. The latest high-end fashion house to accept a no-fur policy is Maison Margiela. Their creative director, John Galliano is the one who announced the news.

John has been a long-time friend with the Senior Vice President of PETA Dan Mathews. The first met on a beach in France and have talked about this topic on numerous occasions. The designer and Mathews became very close friends, and the PETA VP had a strong influence on John’s views. First, he convinced him to become a vegetarian, then introduced him to a number of sustainable fabric alternatives. Galliano has been a vegetarian for quite a while, but he admits he didn’t do it for the animals, but for the care of his own body. The eccentric designer got a whole new point of view once he adopted his dog Gypsy.

Photo Credit: @johngalliano/Instagram

“I was swimming in the sea with Penélope Cruz in Saint-Tropez. And just then, Dan’s face popped out of the water. It was like in “Jaws’‚Äö√Ñ√∂‚àö√ë‚àö√Üvery frightening. I knew PETA’s work, I respected them, but their reputation preceded them. You can be outrageous and fun without fur! Come and party with us, you’ll see! Fur used to be associated with luxury ‚Äö√Ñ√∂‚àö√ë¬¨‚àÇ what is a true luxury today? It’s authenticity. And inventiveness ‚Äö√Ñ√∂‚àö√ë¬¨‚àÇ Today we don’t want a product, we want ethics, a firm that defends the values that we admire.’- Galliano explained.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

John is a well-known fur lover. Ever since his early designing days, he was keen on including this animal-derived fabric in his eccentric collections. The designer has had quite a turbulent career, including being fired from Dior and having to go to court for his insulting anti-Semitic comments. He became the creative director of Margiela in 2014 and hasn’t used fur for quite a while on runway shows. Once Dan started sending him samples of PETA-approved materials, Galliano started thinking about all the innovative ways he could use them in Maison Margiela’s collections.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

In the past year, a lot of luxury brands pledged to stop using fur in all of their future collections. Gucci announced their decision in October and promised that they will be selling all of their residue fur items on an auction. The proceeds will be donated to animal care groups. Michael Kors, Furla, and Versace are also high-end labels which will be staying away from fur starting from 2018.

Martina Todorovska is a content contributor for website-design-los-angeles.com and a full-time freelancer focused on the fields of fashion and beauty. What started as a way to stay busy and updated with fashion trends, turned out the be the job of her dreams. She is a graduated Doctor of Dental Medicine and currently finishing her Master Studies.